


two better hemispheres with(out) sharp north

by brightsmoon



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Forehead Touching, Happy Ending, Healing, Intimacy, Married Life, Political Alliances, Post-Canon, Post-War, Scars and Wounds, Sharing a Bed, Soft kissing, Undressing and Body Worship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 23:43:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightsmoon/pseuds/brightsmoon
Summary: Long days translate into long nights so it’s no surprise that Amaya returns to her quarters to find Janai passed out, arms propped up on various papers.





	two better hemispheres with(out) sharp north

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kukkiscr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kukkiscr/gifts).



> based on and inspired by [this absolutely stunning, ethereal, lovely](https://twitter.com/kukiscr/status/1147643618535981056?s=21) art by kukiscr on twitter
> 
> title; [a good-morrow](https://poets.org/poem/good-morrow) by john donne

Long days translate into long nights so it’s no surprise that Amaya returns to her quarters to find Janai passed out, arms propped up on various papers. Six months in Xadia and six months in Katolis as part of their continued efforts to show elf and human relations as peaceful has been hard on them, Amaya knows. 

It’s been three years since the end of the war and they’re looking for a place of their own - Amaya isn’t a General, Janai is no longer Lux Knight. They’ve settled down as best they can with ever-changing homes but both want more - more than what they grudgingly agreed to in the contract that presented them with rings and an opportunity. 

Amaya leans against the door for a moment. With all the running around they’ve done especially in the last few months with trade agreements between the two countries being drawn up, they’re exhausted. Every peaceful alone moment is spent sleeping and Amaya misses her wife’s embrace. The Katolis Castle can be drafty and she’s found no better heater than Janai’s arms. 

Logically she knows Sunfire elves can’t get cold except on shorter days of the year but draws a blanket from their bed over Janai’s shoulders anyway. Her brown-red braids fall over her shoulder, tipped and wrapped in brass for Katolis and gold for Xadia; a familiar sight that sits on their hands every day. The fire dances shadows across Janai’s face and Amaya can’t help but lean down to kiss the bridge between her eyes. 

She never dreamed she’d be this happy again after Sarai’s death but she’s found a future she doesn’t dare let go of - an expanding family through her nephews in one hand and her wife in the other. Rayla is due any day now and Amaya finds herself running interference with her eldest nephew. Years ago she never dreamed of a Sunfire elf becoming one of the King’s closest advisors but Janai and she are the heads of a new part of Ezran’s government. While Janai spends most of her time at Ezran’s side debating politics, Amaya watches Callum’s mouth spell out his fears of being a father. 

When they return to Xadia in two month’s time, Amaya knows their roles will be switched. Janai will be by her mother and sister’s side and Amaya will take her shift as representative and diplomat. 

Janai’s face scrunches as Amaya pulls back and she smiles, brushing a braid back from her wife’s face. In the years since the war they’ve both learned how to wake slowly without fear of sudden threat and Janai blinks at her languidly. “Did I fall asleep again?”

_I would say no but I would be a liar,_ Amaya signs with chuckle _. And our vows say no lying to each other._

A smile as radiant as the sun passes over Janai’s face as she sits up and stretches her arms. She leans up to kiss Amaya deeply before pulling back. 

“Did I miss anything interesting, my love?”

_Callum is still frantic about meeting his kid,_ Amaya signs before turning away to retrieve her night clothes from the chest and then face her wife again. They’re on the road so often they usually don’t unpack too much. _I’ve heard it’s normal. Harrow was scared he wouldn’t be a good father when he married Sarai and then again when they found out about Ez. Sarai used to say it happens to everyone._

Janai chuckles and stands. She removes the blanket from her shoulder and lays it across the back of the chair, coming to stand before Amaya. Facing away from the firelight and with her horns, she looks taller than Amaya by more than mere inches and she knows her heart pounds at the thought. 

She loves her wife. 

“May I?” Janai asks and Amaya nods. 

It’s a simple thing but speaks volumes to trust between them. Back when armor was still their daily routine, they would help the other in and out of the various complicated pieces of their gear. Not because Amaya or Janai needed it but because the wanted to - trust was a hard thing to earn and an even harder thing to swallow. Helping the other into and out of what did most of the protecting at the start then end of the day led to understanding. Acceptance. And, slowly, trust.

Love came not long after. 

Amaya simply nods. She’s in nothing more complicated than a green tunic with a high neck and navy trousers tucked into brown hunting boots - new favorite of hers, made of Del-Bar leather - but Janai undresses her like she’s wearing silk. Only once or twice do Janai’s fingers brush Amaya’s bare skin but she shivers each time at the sensation, utterly unable to help it and unwilling to. 

She would never tell a soul except her wife’s but she secretly loves when Janai unwraps her breast bindings. Amaya no longer ties them as tightly as she used to when she more her armor so they’re not as sore come the end of the day. 

Once, Janai confessed the same thing and that night they had both gone to bed without redressing the other. They hadn’t needed to.

Janai’s callouses combined with the sun-given warmth of her arcanum helps chase away the cool spring night outside their chambers, slipping through the cracks of the stone. She leaves Amaya completely bare before pressing a single, chaste kiss to her collarbone and mouthing into her skin. The vibrations travel to her shoulders and Amaya can feel herself relax at the syllables. 

“Courageous,” Janai murmurs. Amaya sighs and closes her eyes, knowing she’s kissing the spot her Sunfire blade once sliced through her armor, all those years in the secret base on the border. Although the scar isn’t bad, Janai kisses it almost every night. 

A nightgown soft as a lamb’s down is slipped over Amaya’s head and she draws her wife into a deep kiss a moment later. Janai kisses back just as eagerly but the kiss doesn’t get heavier but stays a shimmering, comforting warmth. 

Amaya’s lips and head buzz pleasantly when she pulls back. 

_My turn_ , she signs and Janai takes a step back. It’s not far enough their arms still aren’t wrapped around the other but Amaya mourns the loss of her warmth anyhow. 

With a higher internal temperature that makes her more immune to the draftiness of the castle, Janai is dressed simply in a sleeveless burgundy tunic tucked into charcoal trousers that are rolled to her calf. Her feet are bare but she isn’t too concerned; Amaya had spotted her leather slippers by the bed when she came in earlier. As used to it as she is, it’s as simple as breathing to slip Janai’s top past her pointed ears and horns - Amaya has learned the hard way. 

The first time they had done this they had both been stiff with nerves. Both Amaya and Janai has struggled with each other’s breast bindings, scared of touching more skin than necessary, but now Amaya unwraps the bindings with the same intimate touch as their kiss. 

Trust is a slow, careful thing and they have all the time in the world. 

When Janai is as equally bare as Amaya once was, she makes no hesitation leaning to kiss the golden-yellow marks beneath her wife’s eyes. Although she cannot hear Janai’s sigh the vibrations echo through her body from their chests pressed together and Amaya kisses each of her cheeks before dressing her in her own night things. 

When they’re both done, their night schedules diverge. Amaya turns down the lamps as Janai cleans up her desk with a yawn that Amaya chuckles at. Her wife turns at the sound with a teasing smile on her face. Her hands are empty to sign - something she doesn’t do often because of her lack of a fifth finger needed to do most complicated signs. 

_What’s so funny?_

Amaya crosses their chambers in three steps to kiss her and Janai buries her fingers in Amaya’s dark mahogany hair without hesitation. She’s let it start to grow out these past few months to the point it now curls limply past her chin on one side.

She only needs one hand to sign her response so Amaya doesn’t pull back far - just enough their foreheads touch and she can feel the warmth of Janai’s skin spread through her and Janai can see the hand that comes up between them. 

_I love you_ , Amaya signs. Janai’s eyes seem to glaze over with tears and she pulls Amaya into a fierce hug. 

“I love you,” Janai says into her bare shoulder and Amaya all but shudders against her. When has she become so soft and why doesn’t she care?

_Say it again_ , Amaya pleads. 

Janai’s mouth curves into a smile. “I love you,” she repeats, “I love you I love you I love you.”

They fall into their bed together and Amaya traces the outline of Janai’s face in the dark. When her fingertips reach Janai’s chin her wife takes her hand and presses delicate kisses to each of her five appendages before lacing their fingers together. 

In the dark, covered in blankets and wrapped in other’s warmth and fingers, they fall asleep. Amaya’s last thought before she drifts away is that she’s glad she took that grudging leap of faith all those years ago and kissed her enemy for the sake of international peace between two countries who had been fighting an unwinnable war for a millennia. 

She’s glad to have Janai by her side. 

The darkness isn’t so dark anymore and Amaya knows her fingers won’t disconnect from Janai’s until come morning when they wake to a world they’ve sacrificed so much to make better but have gained so much in equal return. 

She wouldn’t have it any other way. 


End file.
